7 Best Search Engine Evaluator Jobs (And How To Apply!)
Search engines play a massive role in our society and how we function. And given the scale of companies like Google, it's not surprising that they heavily invest into their tech to deliver the best possible experience to users.
One way companies like Google do this is through hiring search engine evaluators who are responsible for manually reviewing search results to help improve algorithm performance.
If this sounds like an interesting side hustle, this guide is covering how to find search engine evaluator jobs and everything you need to get started!
The Best Search Engine Evaluator Jobs
1. Appen
When it comes to finding online work as a search engine evaluator, Appen is one of the most popular platforms people turn to.
Appen's goal is to provide ‘high quality training data for machine learning, enhanced by human interaction.' Appen actually offers a wide range of services across multiple industries, and specialize in helping organizations improve their AI.
Working as an Appen search engine evaluator has perks. The contract terms can last several months, and Appen is looking for workers from over 40+ countries right now for several projects, including Project Arrow, Shasta, and Yukon.
All you have to do to apply is to select your country of work and to fill out a brief registration form to be considered. You will also have to pass an assessment if you are approved to work with Appen.
Appen pays an average of $14//hour for search engine work according to Glassdoor, making it a decently paying work from home opportunity that doesn't require any phone calls or interaction with clients.
Note: Appen has acquired Leapforce and RaterLabs, which were other popular options for evaluator jobs, so keep this in mind when doing your research!
2. FlexJobs
FlexJobs is a popular remote job website that has thousands of work-from-home opportunities and legit online jobs posted at a given time.
It's a popular resource for finding full-time gigs, and I've used it in the past to land freelance writing work. Many people also use it to find full-time opportunities, not just side gigs.
That said, FlexJobs still has plenty of microtask jobs, including search engine evaluator jobs. And it also has similar jobs involving QA testing, website testing, and similar roles that are beginner-friendly.
If you're serious about your online job search, I definitely suggest giving FlexJobs a try!
3. Lionbridge
Lionbridge, also known as The Smart Crowd, is another company with a focus on data and AI. And it has plenty of work from home opportunities if you're looking to make extra cash.
From transcription jobs to QA testing, Lionbridge helps companies test their software and improve their AI capabilities by using their own technology alongside a human component.
Unsurprisingly, Lionbridge also frequently hires search engine evaluators just like Appen. The signup process and requirements are quite similar. You simply have to fill out an application package which includes some info on your past employment, provide a resume, and list the country you will be working from.
Lionbridge provides work for a variety of evaluation projects, including general search results, social media content monitoring, and online map specialists.
Lionbridge search engine evaluators can earn between $12-$16 per hour. Overall, it's the best website like Appen and closest competitor when it comes to landing search engine evaluator gigs.
4. Clickworker
Clickworker is a popular microtask website that lets people from around the world make money without having any experience.
You can find all kinds of tasks on Clickworker to start making money. Some of the most common ones include transcription, image tagging and annotation, content moderation, and occasional search engine evaluation work.
My favorite part about using sites like Clickworker is that anyone can get started, even if you don't have prior testing experience. And the platform lets you cash out with PayPal cash, so you're earning real money.
5. Amazon MTurk
Amazon Mechanical Turk, or MTurk, is a microtask platform where humans can help out with “tasks” researchers and companies need assistance with.
There are all kinds of micro jobs on this platform. This includes data entry, transcription, but also occasional gigs like search engine evaluation.
Overall, this is a super popular way to make money with Amazon. And you can earn around $3 to $5 per hour as a beginner and $7 to $10+ as you gain experience.
6. ISoftStone
iSoftStone is a Chinese based company that uses crowdsourcing to provide their services to clients.
Data entry, hardware testing, translation, data integrity testing, and evaluation are just some of the jobs available on iSoftStone. This company isn't always actively hiring search engine evaluators, but they generally have ad evaluator jobs available like Appen and Lionbridge.
iSoftStone contracts vary in length, but they require their remote workers to put in at least 10 hours a week. Freelancers are capped at 25 hours per week, and pay starts at $13/hour.
7. Telus International
One final place to make money as a search engine evaluator is Telus International.
This company has over 1 million microworkers in its AI community project. Within this project, you can apply for sub-projects like data annotation jobs, data enrichment jobs, online maps analysis, and online rating jobs.
As a member of the community, you get to work on your own schedule and keep things flexible. And there are dozens of open positions right now for evaluating search engines as well as projects like app testing, game testing, and evaluating ads.
Even More Places To Find Search Engine Evaluator Jobs
If the above 7 companies don't have openings, don't fret! Here are some other places to find search engine and ads evaluator jobs:
- OneForma
- KarmaHub
- Toloka Yandex
- Google Jobs
- Facebook Jobs
- Fiverr
- WeLocalize
- Bing Jobs
- Yahoo Jobs
- LinkedIn Jobs
- Upwork
- Crossover
- ZipRecruiter
Also note that there are plenty of evaluation jobs for new AI companies and models now. So, this space should only continue to grow as the AI industry does.
How Much Do Search Engine Evaluator Jobs Pay?
Search engine evaluator jobs generally pay $8 to $12 per hour. Some positions pay around $15 per hour, but these are usually longer-term projects and not freelance work.
Ultimately, this is one of the lower-paying online side hustles. You can earn more than using survey sites, but making more than a few hundred dollars per month in additional income might be difficult.
Why Companies Hire Search Engine Evaluators
Did you know that Google receives over 63,000 searchers per second on an average day, or that the average user searches 3-4 times each day?
However, while this search technology is pretty sophisticated, algorithms aren't always perfect.
Google, for example, has been increasingly displaying answer snippets to search queries, relying on their algorithm to display answers based on the content it scrapes from top results to serve user intent. Things don't always go according to plan, however:
Yup, there was a period in time where snakes had 2 legs and horses had 6, according to Google snippets. This was largely because content from Wikipedia had been tampered with, but Google didn't know any better and decided to cite the information.
Algorithms also make mistakes, and they don't always understand nuances or what content is relevant. Sometimes a human element is the only solution to finding weak points in the system.
What Is A Search Engine Evaluator Job?
In general, search engine evaluators will work to improve results for 2 different engines: Google or Bing.
Google and Bing have their own ranking algorithms and guidelines, but the idea behind working for either search engine is very similar.
Once you successfully complete some training and understand the guidelines that are used to rank content (there are over 200 ranking factors for Google), you can start to evaluate websites, search results, featured snippets, images, and other information that is returned from search queries.
Search engine evaluators are responsible for monitoring search engine results to look for these sorts of errors, and to gradually improve and maintain the quality of search engines and user experience.
Depending on your contract terms and length, you might have to work through hours of queries each week, or perhaps just an hour or two per day. The amount of work you get completely depends on the company you work with, as well as the current demand and your experience level.
Pros & Cons
Pros:
- Gain valuable experience – QA work is always in high demand, and efforts to improve AI and algorithm accuracy aren't going anywhere.
- Decent pay – Earn $8 to $12 or even more per hour.
- Limited equipment – A fast internet connection and reliable computer is all you need…plus, no dealing with clients!
Cons:
- Repetitive work – While you will gain valuable experience through an evaluator job, the work is incredibly repetitive.
- Volatile hours – Contracts might have a set term, but your hourly work week can still fluctuate significantly.
- Pay caps – $16/hour is basically the maximum you can ever earn with this side hustle.
Final Thoughts
There are plenty of creative ways to earn quick money online. And if you have a high level of attention to detail, you can always consider applying to search engine evaluator jobs with the companies I outlined above.
This is just scratching the surface as well. Companies like and Remotask also pay people for completing these types of testing gigs as well. And you can also find search engine evaluation gigs on Indeed and other job boards.
Sure, this type of work probably won't make you a millionaire. But it pays a decent rate per hour and is beginner-friendly. Hopefully, one of the companies in this list helps you get started today!
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